My Love is a Fever
by the-protagonist25
Summary: When Bellatrix Lestrange wants something, she get's it, and it's best not to stand in her way.
1. Cuts and Kisses

**Disclaimer: I own nothing **

**_My love is as a fever, longing still_**

_The pain..._

_Slowly, slowly climbing up from it's origin in her forearm up and up, spreading until it wrapped it's merciless claws around her heart. _

_Bellatrix Lestrange. _

_Hermione's screams grew louder, building to such a deafening crescendo she could hardly bear to hear come from herself. _

_"Stop! PLEASE!" _anything,_ she thought, _I'll do anything. _She couldn't take it anymore. Bellatrix cackled maniacally. _

_"Oh your blood really is _filthy," _She screamed in between bouts of laughter. _

Hermione woke with such a strong jerk she nearly went flying off the edge of her bed. Her heart pounded nearly as hard and fast as it had _that night, _Bellatrix's laughter still ringing in her ears. She clutched her forearm tight, the tears streaming silently from chocolate brown eyes.

The sleeping girl next to her stirred. "Hermione?" Ginny murmured sleepily, blinking rapidly, "What-" before she could finish her sentence Hermione had flung her arms around her, suddenly immensely grateful for the bed they shared at Shell Cottage, and for Ginny's unexpected arrival. She hated waking from such a nightmare alone.

Ginny sat up, so she was in a better position to cradle Hermione. "Another dream?" the redhead asked quietly, for Hermione had one every night Ginny had spent with her since her arrival. She felt Hermione nod.

"It-it's never been like this before. I could _feel_ it this time. And the scars burn, even now," Hermione had pulled away to look at Ginny as she said this. Wordlessly, Ginny drew the other girl's left, scarred arm to her lips and kissed it.

"There. All better" Ginny offered a smile, but it faded quickly at the look Hermione had in her eyes. "Hermione?"

Tears still streaming steadily from her eyes, Hermione kissed Ginny with a sudden and unexpected sort of desperation. If asked later why she did it, Hermione would only be able to answer that she felt she had to, she felt a sexual desire so abrupt and unexplainable she was left baffled and weak.

Ginny resisted for a moment, but Hermione wound her elegant fingers through her hair and kissed her with such intensity that the youngest Weasley couldn't help her belated enthusiastic reaction. She'd never been kissed that way before, not by Dean or even Harry Potter. It was several moments before she found the strength to softly push Hermione away, who looked hurt and embarrassed.

They stared at each other, Ginny thinking of Harry, and Hermione thinking, oddly, of Bellatrix. Hermione, blushing fiercely, scrambled away from Ginny and out of the bed.

"Where are you going?" Ginny asked.

Hermione was already halfway to the bedroom door, "I-I think I'll sleep better on the couch tonight," and then she was gone, the door clicking softly shut behind her.

XXXX

The next morning Hermione was roused from sleep much more peacefully than the previous night. This time, to the smell of waffles and syrup. She sat up, her hair a mess and her eyes still glazed slightly with sleep. Harry was sitting at the table while Fleur was cutting his waffles, and Bill was staring suspiciously at the toaster as he awaited the next pair to pop up. Harry was blushing at Fleur's kindness, but grinned at Hermione when he caught sight of her.

"Morning Hermione. What're you doing on the couch?"

Hermione was struggling for an explanation when Ginny appeared in the doorway and said, "Oh, I'm a dreadful snorer some nights, aren't I Hermione? You could've woken me and I would've taken the couch."

Their eyes met and an unspoken agreement to never speak of the real reason the couch was occupied passed between them. Harry laughed cheerfully, blissfully unaware, and Ginny's eyes dropped guiltily. Hermione traced the letters on her forearm absently, an action that was slowly becoming a habit.

The silence following Harry's laugh was broken by Ron stumbling down the stairs. "Is that food I smell?" he asked loudly upon arriving in the kitchen. And miraculously before entering the kitchen Ron paused to put a hand on Hermione's shoulder. He had been so gentle with her since escaping from the Malfoy's, it was very touching.

Conversation flowed easily after Ron's arrival, the only sense of awkwardness being between the two youngest girls. After breakfast though, Hermione was relieved when it reached that time of day where they had to continue their planning with Griphook. Normally she dreaded it, the planning day in and day out, it got rather boring, but today it came as a welcome distraction.

They were at it for hours without interruption, that is, before Fleur walked in and stood in the door way, looking at them all with poorly disguised curiosity. The conversation stopped immediately as all eyes turned to the slim blonde.

"I was wondering..." she began, clearly unsure of how to phrase her question, "eef any of 'ou know... you zee we're running out of supplies, and need somezing for dinner. And, you see, with ze invisibility cloak..."

It seemed very awkward for Fleur to ask the trio such a favor, but Hermione jumped at the chance to leave the house. "Oh! I would love to pick something up." she said. Harry opened his mouth to protest but she interrupted him, "Oh, honestly Harry, I'll be careful."

"But how will you pay?" Ron asked, "you're not thinking of stealing, are you Hermione?" he was smiling slightly at the idea.

"No, I'll... slip the groceries under the cloak and leave the proper amount of gallons on the counter. Perfectly legal."

Hermione was up already, and walked out with Fleur.

"I'll go get the cloak," Hermione said. She walked over to where her small beaded bag sat on the kitchen counter and fished for the cloak. Before she found it, however, her hand touched something cold and metal.

_Bellatrix Lestrange's knife._

The first night the trio spent at the cottage, Hermione woke from sleep in the late hours of the night, after having a dream about Bellatrix that was perhaps just as terrifying as her nightmares of torture. She'd dreamt of pulling the strings of the older woman's corset loose, unhooking it and tossing it aside. She then continued to caress the lace on the top of her dress, her fingers brushing against the milky white skin of Bellatrix's breasts as she did so, before moving a hand to tangle in the unruly black curls to bring their faces closer together...

So, when Hermione had woken she could not control her desire to hold something of Bellatrix's in her hand. _Her dagger._ Hermione had slipped silently out of the house to retrieve it from where it'd be discarded at the shore. It had lain with ocean water lapping at the blade, not quite enough to pull it into the ocean. She'd been relieved it was washed clean of Dobby's blood, of any reminder of the life it had taken.

Standing now in Shell Cottage, Hermione slipped the dagger out and into her pocket quickly. Just in case she ran into any trouble. After she pulled out the cloak, she turned around to see Bill standing with Ginny in the doorway.

"Hermione, I was thinking you should take Ginny with you to Diagon Alley. Two is better than one, and besides, she _really _wants to go," Bill said, and Hermione looked at the eagerness in Ginny's eyes. She probably wanted out of the house as much as Hermione did.

After a moment's hesitation Hermione agreed. For some reason she couldn't place, Hermione was worried. She felt a strong sort of premonition that something bad was going to happen.

_Oh, we'll be fine under the cloak, _she reassured herself, _I was never good at divination anyway. There's nothing that can go wrong, as long as we're careful._

**Authors note: Did you love it? Hate it? Do you want me to continue, or trash it and never speak of it again? **

**I apologize if my writing's a bit rusty, I haven't had at it in awhile. I don't mind suggestions, just go easy on me please? **

**Anyway the title and the quote at the beginning come from Sonnet 147, by Shakespeare. **

**This is my last day before school starts up again and review would help ease my pain :) **


	2. Confinement

There are many things in the world Bellatrix Lestrange hated, and coming right after mudbloods, blood traitors and muggles, was being confined to a house like a caged animal. After the Dark Lord arrived to a house that no longer contained the Potter boy, she was lucky to be left alive and have gotten off only with a sort of house arrest. But that didn't lessen her annoyance. Bellatrix liked to _breath_ almost as much as she liked to kill.

She was sitting on the floor in her guest bedroom, using her pointed nails to carve shapes and letters into the wall. She'd just finished the last D in MUDBLOOD, and was smiling slightly at the memory of the word on Granger's arm. Her smile dropped when the door swung open and Narcissa walked in. Bellatrix stood abruptly, eyeing her sister with narrowed eyes, arms crossed, and her lower lip jutting out slightly, looking very childlike. Narcissa, composed as ever, raised an eyebrow at her.

"I came to check on you," she said bleakly.

Bellatrix stomped closer to her, her heels clicking loudly on the wooden floorboards until she was inches from her sister's face. Nearly anyone else would've been wildly intimidated of being in such close proximity to such a lethal Death Eater, but never Narcissa. " I can't take it here, Cissy. It's drab and boring and I haven't used the Cruciatus Curse in _days._"

In a sudden burst of anger that would've been unexpected from anyone other than Bellatrix, she kicked the wooden chair at her bedside so hard it went flying into the nearest wall, crashing with a loud _bang_. "_And I want my fucking wand!" _she howled.

Narcissa had still managed to keep her cool, and calmly withdrew her wand from her robes, "I was going to let Draco borrow it, but for the sake of what you have left in one piece in my home, I think it's best-"

Bellatrix snatched the wand out of Cissy's hand before she could finish her sentence. With a wave of the wand and a glint in her eyes she fired a curse at the discarded chair and with a _crack_, sent splinters flying everywhere. No more than 5 seconds passed before Lucius came running in, stopping behind his wife and staring around the room in shock. He shot a dirty look at Bellatrix's smiling face.

Before Lucius could say anything, Narcissa said, "Bella, perhaps you should... get some air," when her suggestion was met with silence she continued, "go somewhere and seek out a wand for you to use until you can get yours back."

"Are you suggesting I defy the Dark Lord's wishes?" Bella asked shrewdly.

"Just do what you have to to keep your head,"

"Or what's left of it anyway," Lucius hissed. Bellatrix swung her wand to point it in his face, fixing him with a look that made him more nervous that he would've liked to admit. Narcissa grabbed his arm and pulled him from the room before any more damage was done, leaving Bellatrix to herself.

As soon as she was left alone, the dark haired witch began pacing her room, her heels further crushing any splinters she stepped on. She was beyond conflicted. She _needed _to breath fresh air, escape her cage, win a wand. But defy the Dark Lord? Then again, she wasn't much use to him confined to the walls of Malfoy Manor, without use of a wand truly loyal to her, without even the use of her precious dagger. She growled and cast a spell at her window, and the force of her it sent shards of glass flying 15 feet into the cloudy day. Air rushed into the room and she was lost to it. The feel of freedom on her fingertips. Ever since Azkaban Bellatrix hadn't done well being confined to a single space. As if in a trance, she moved gracefully to the broken window, breathing deeply. The Dark Lord was busy, he wouldn't notice if she took a short field trip. She was doing it for him, really. She was his best lieutenant, she wouldn't do him any good unarmed.

Without further delay, she apparated out of the room, were she appeared seconds later in Diagon Alley. She pulled her hood over her face. Wouldn't want to be recognized before she found her next victim, so as not to cause a panic. She strode forward with her head down. Still, she noticed that Diagon Alley wasn't nearly as crowded as it was the last time she visited her vault. All the miserable mudbloods and blood traitors were holed up in their houses, shaking with fear. She smirked at the image. Unfortunately that might make it a bit harder to find someone to disarm, and then of course, _Crucio _into oblivion.

Her stride slowed to a prowl and her dark eyes peeked out from under her hood to search. That was when she saw something most peculiar; a door swinging open by itself, when there was no sign of a breeze. She moved quickly around the side of the building, peering into the window. Everything seemed normal..._no wait!_ she thought.

Bellatrix's eyes had caught on to a large plate of food that she assumed was meant for the three men with a glasses of firewhiskey waiting at the bar. It was lifted mid air by itself before vanishing in the blink of an eye, only to be replaced moments later by a small cluster of gallons. Bellatrix stared, transfixed before she walked back to where she came from and peered around the corner to wait to see if the front door would open again. Sure enough, it did.

Bellatrix raised her elegant eyebrows in fascination.

_Very interesting. _

**A/N: **

**First I'd like to thank all the wonderful people who reviewed :)**

**Second, sorry for the short chapter, but it shouldn't be too long before I can get the next one up. And then we can get to the good stuff ;)**


	3. Unforgivable

Hermione knew she was being watched, she could feel it. Every once in awhile the wind would blow her way and she'd catch a distantly familiar musky scent on the wind. Or she'd catch an echo of a heel clicking on the cobblestone. It was making her anxious, more so than she already was being under the cloak with Ginny. They needed to apparate, and soon. She opened her mouth to tell Ginny to take her arm, but the younger girl beat her to the punch.

"Hermione I...I was thinking about last night." Hermione shifted nervously as the stopped around the back of the Leaky Cauldron. She could feel Ginny's breath on her cheek as she continued, "I'm sorry about pushing you away, I just...thought of Harry and-"

"Ginny, no, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have-" Before Hermione could finish, Ginny threw her arms around her neck and kissed her hard. Hermione let out a muffled squeak of surprise before responding to her kiss. She pushed Ginny up against the brick wall to get even closer. When Hermione's tongue slipped into her mouth neither of them noticed when the cloak fell off. Ginny moaned loudly and wound her fingers into Hermione's thick, curling hair.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? Muddy and that ginger blood traitor! _Disgusting._"

Hermione and Ginny jerked apart so fast Hermione nearly fell on her ass. Hermione recovered quickly though and drew her wand only a moment after Bellatrix, a moment too late. A quick shriek of "_Expelliarmus" _and the duel was over before it started. Ginny, however, drew her wand while Bellatrix was distracted. She opened her mouth to disarm the dark witch, but Bellatrix was far from rusty despite her lack of recent practice.

"_Crucio!" _she squealed joyfully. Ginny fell to the ground, writhing in pain, and dropping her wand in the process.

Hermione, keeping her calm, picked up Ginny's wand and yelled, "_Petrificus Totalus!" _Bellatrix, faster than Hermione would've thought possible switched her attention back to Hermione and cast _Protego_. The two women then began firing spells fast and swift, but the strength of each of Bellatrix's spells shoved Hermione backwards a little more every time. Hermione was sweating, heart racing, because she knew she wouldn't be able to keep it up for much longer. So she decided to do it the muggle way.

Using every last ounce of her strength, in one sweeping motion she managed to shove Bellatrix back enough to disorient her. Then she charged, running straight at her, yelling "Ginny, run!" before she plowed into a very confused dark witch. The pair of them went flying at least three feet before crashing to the ground, Hermione on top. She wrapped her hands around Bellatrix's wrists and tightened her legs on the sides of her hips so she had nowhere to go. She glanced briefly over her shoulder at Ginny, who was watching the two entangled witches with a deer-in-the-headlights expression on her face. Bellatrix bucked her hips so hard Hermione nearly fell off of her, barely able to keep her dominant position. However, she felt the dagger slip out of the waistband of her jeans and heard it clatter to the floor. Bellatrix stopped struggling only long enough to see what had fallen.

Bellatrix felt, at first. a wave of joy at the sight of her favorite dagger, and then curiosity as to why the mudblood had kept it. There was little though, that the witch could wonder about for too long without getting bored, so her curiosity quickly turned to fury. With an animalistic noise ripping its way from her chest she jerked hard enough to get Hermione off of her before tearing her wrists out of her grip. She pressed her heel to Hermione's chest hard enough for it to hurt if the girl struggled, while she bent over and scooped up her wand and her dagger.

"You stupid girl," she snarled, pointing Narcissa's wand at Hermione's face, "I've killed many for much less than that,"

The witches locked eyes for a moment, and Bellatrix, despite her threatening words, did not move to kill her. Instead, her dark eyes moved to the word she'd carved into Hermione's arm. _Mine_, Bellatrix thought. _Every time she looks at that scar she'll think of me._ She'd left her mark on the Mudblood, scarred her pretty skin. The girl _was _pretty, too. It'd be a shame to let that go to _waste_. Looking down at her, Bellatrix suddenly thought of what Narcissa had told her, after the death of Bellatrix's first cat. _You destroy everything you touch, Bella! _

Not this time she wouldn't. But she did need to take her anger out on something. The moment she realized this, she felt something hard hit the side of her face. Taking her heel off Hermione's chest, she whirled around in the direction it'd come. She looked at Ginny, then the rock lying a few feet from her. The blood traitor had thrown a rock at her!

"Get away from her!" the redhead demanded, her voice surprisingly strong. Bellatrix's eyes nearly turned red with anger and bloodlust. She lifted her wand, and before Hermione could comprehend what was about to happen, Bellatrix let fly he worst of the 3 unforgivable curses.

"AVADA KEDAVARA!"

Hermione screamed, and Ginny Weasley fell. The sounds coming from Hermione were really horrible, anguishing enough for Bellatrix to feel a flicker of _something _she couldn't quite put her finger on. She watched with mild interest as Hermione crawled toward her fallen friend and pull her into her arms. The girl was shaking violently, mumbling incoherently, and appeared to be completely lost in her grief.

Bellatrix was visibly more relaxed, except for a small wrinkle in between her eyebrows. She even went so far as to take a step in the girls direction, before stopping herself. What she should do was throw the Granger girl over her shoulder and take her away with her to do what she pleased, but she wondered if she'd even be able to pry her arms away from the dead girl. With a sigh just barely loud enough for Hermione to hear, Bellatrix turned away. She tucked Granger's wand into her cloak and disapparated, leaving the girl with her grief without a word. Perhaps the closest to respectful she'd been to anyone but the Dark Lord in years. "Why" was a question she never wanted answered.


	4. At the Core

**I forgot how hard it is to balance school and writing so I'm sorry for the short chapters and the delay in between. Also, OphelliaBlack, about the cat, it's really up to the imagination but I was thinking Bella probably has never been very good at taking care of living things when she's so talented at destroying them. Anyway, here's Chapter 3: **

When Bellatrix arrived back at Malfoy Manor she found her sister on the couch with a book on her lap. Bella tossed Narcissa's wand nonchalantly onto her book without a word, before walking back up to the guest room. With a contented sigh, se threw herself onto the king sized bed and looked thoughtfully up at the celling. She pulled Hermione's wand out of her robes and ran it between her fingers. Although the wand was loyal to her, she could feel it's natural aversion to the darkness inside of her. It would have to do. She was a bit disappointed that the girl hadn't been carrying her own Walnut wand, which she missed dearly. But there wands had the same core, as she'd heard once at a Death Eater meeting when they shared their gathered information on the "Golden" Trio. Hopefully that'd be enough.

When her thoughts turned to Hermione she sighed deeply, chastising herself for not taking the girl when she had the chance. Her stomach rolled with disgust when she thought of the Weasley girl's hands all over _her _mudblood. In Bellatrix's mind, the moment she cut open the girl's arm, she became hers. She simply couldn't shake the feeling of possession she had whenever the girl came to mind and it was becoming an obsession of hers. Her darkest secret.

Her thoughts then turned to the feeling of Hermione straddling her, holding her wrists above her head. Bellatrix was appalled at the nerve Hermione had and at the same time...it turned her on immensely. No one had been able to take control of her for years and it sparked something inside of her that had long been untouched. She stood and began restlessly pacing her room, debating _what to do, what to do._ She quickly went from calm from her kill to frustrated from her inappropriate thoughts of the mudblood. She was getting ready to break something else when her sister burst into her room for the second time that day. Narcissa's eyes were wide and nervous, and the second Bellatrix's noticed this, she knew.

"The Dark Lord," Bellatrix hissed before her sister could form the words, and swept past her with a flourish. Already she was clearing her mind, shoving all thoughts of the mudblood's beautiful screams into the hidden corners of her mind. She could not risk the Dark Lord discovering her feelings.

When she entered the sitting room and saw him standing there, she felt a mix of fear and intense adoration. His mere presence in the room left the air feeling thick and tense, as if every object was on the verge of exploding.

Bellatrix bowed her head as Voldemort stepped closer, his eyes gleaming like the embers of a kindling fire. He was much calmer than his last appearance at the Manor, but his presence was just as terrifying. Her chest rose and fell rapidly with each breath.

"Bellatrix...I believe you have been here long enough...perhaps I shall allow you to leave the confines of the Manor again..." he murmured, quiet enough that it almost sounded as if he were talking to himself.

"Oh, thank you, my Lord," Bellatrix whispered, bowing further gratefully. Se allowed herself to look up to meet his eyes, but she found that they were low, on the sheath for her wand attached to her belt.

"What is that?" Voldemort asked quietly, "Whose wand is that?"

Bellatrix felt a tremor flow through her, "It-it's...Potter's little mudblood's wand...I'm sorry my lord-"

"You disobeyed my command?" Voldemort's voice rose and she could hear the anger in it.

_How could I have been so stupid, leaving her wand in plain sight!_ Bellatrix thought wildly. "I-yes but it was only because-"

But Voldemort could not hear reason, only see betrayal, "_Crucio!" _

Bellatrix shrieked and fell to the floor as if all the strength in her legs had left her. She felt as though someone had coated her skin with acid, and at the same time that a fire had been lit on all her organs. She opened her mouth to scream but no noise could escape her constricted throat. Her eyes shut instead, and an image of Hermione exploded behind her eyelids. Without her noticing, a different kind of fire spread between her legs and she instantly grew wet. She gasped and panted and couldn't control the erotic fantasies flooding her mind; how it would feel to have her fingers thrust deep into the mudblood, to have the girl digging deep cut's into her shoulder's with her nails as she was consumed by pleasure. Bellatrix was later sure that had she screamed, the only noise that would leave her lips would be "Hermione".

When the pain and pleasure came to a stop Bellatrix could barely hear the muffled sound of Voldemort as he said, "I am disappointed in you, Bella," before he disapparated. Bellatrix was left crying and shaking violently, overwhelming feelings of guilt and disgust at herself eating away at her.

"St-stupid m-mudblood," she stammered, thinking _my thoughts are as filthy as her blood. _

Later on, after Narcissa had rushed to the sitting room, found her, and brought her to bed, Bellatrix laid perfectly still on her side, staring at the wall. It had been hours, and the rest of the Manor's residents had gone out to enjoy the fresh air while Bellatrix had decided to punish herself further. Her anger towards the mudblood grew, she had gotten her tortured, after all! And she had no right dominating her thoughts the way she was. Every time she thought of it, she got angrier, for it made no sense. Yes, the girl had stood up to her in a way that no one had in years, and yes, even touched her more than most have dared in years, but still...

Bellatrix decided she would have to do something to rid herself of this obsession. But what? She could kill the girl. Or maybe...satisfy her curiosity. Yes, she could capture the girl and do with her whatever she pleased. Surely if she captured Potter's lapdog the Dark Lord would forgive her. And maybe after Granger was captured Potter would be dumb enough to try to rescue her. Yes, it was perfect! Three birds with one Avada Kedavra. She felt slightly calmer now that she had a plan, a way to solve her problem.

Bellatrix was not one for patience. The moment she made up her mind she was out of bed, pacing again. Bella was a Slytherin, as cunning as Gryffindors were cocky, so it wasn't long before the wheels in her head began to turn. She thought back to when the trio had shown up with the snatcher's, Sword of Gryffindor in hand. Hermione had sworn up and down that she hadn't taken the sword, and the Goblin told her it was a fake. Maybe...on the off chance that they had been telling the truth, they would go looking for the real sword or the Hufflepuff cup in her vault. It was her only lead, but she could send out some snatchers to hang around Gringotts to see if they would be stupid enough to try anything. She'd have to think of more possibilities while she waited for more on this one, but she had a good feeling about it. And once this was accomplished, she'd be able to put her filthy feelings behind her.

XxXxX

Late that night every resident at Shell Cottage laid awake. In one room, Hermione had tears streaming silently down her face. She hadn't stopped crying since the moment it happened, and when she saw Ron and Harry's face as they looked at them she knew she would never heal. She wouldn't blame them if they never forgave her. Bill couldn't even look at her anymore. She wanted to be anywhere but where she was now.

There was a soft knock on her door, followed by her name being whispered.

"Come in," she whispered, her voice hoarse. Harry walked in, looking unsteady on his feet as he went to sit on the corner of her bed. His hair stuck up in odd directions and his eyes were ringed with black behind his glasses.

"I couldn't sleep," he mumbled, "and I wanted to tell you...it's not your fault. Not even Sirius could take her on." He was barely able to hold himself in an upright position, and his words slurred slightly. Hermione didn't think she had ever seen him so full of grief and it tore at her already broken heart.

"We can't stay here any longer, Harry. She'd want us to move on. I don't want anyone else to die. We need to go, tomorrow. To Gringotts."

Harry was ready to leave, too, for he felt useless sitting around, and now there was the crushing feeling of sadness. He would lose it if he had to sit and dwell on it any longer.

"Right then," he whispered, "tomorrow. It's decided." he touched Hermione's hand.

"Try and sleep, Harry," Hermione said softly, "we'll be having a long day tomorrow,"

When he left, Hermione pulled Bellatrix's wand from her nightstand and clasped it tightly in her hands. It felt as though it were pulsing, like a heartbeat. And she wondered how a wand that had done such terrible things could feel so _human_ and breakable in her hands.

Little did she know, miles and miles away Bellatrix held Hermione's wand in her hands much the same way.

**A/N**

**I wonder if anyone caught what you can relate the wands to? Sorry again for the wait :/ **


	5. Snatched

Hermione's palms were sweating as she stared at Bellatrix's hauntingly beautiful face in the mirror. She was swallowed up by the darkness of her eyes and couldn't help to wonder about the previous day.

_Why didn't she kill me? _

Bellatrix had had Hermione in a totally vulnerable position, but she didn't have that unhinged, murderous look in her eyes she'd had when she killed Sirius. Instead she looked fiercely possessive, although Hermione could've imagined it. It was hard to see any emotions behind the engulfing blackness of her eyes.

Hermione slowly traced a hand down Bellatrix's defined cheek bone and for a minute she seemed to forget who it was she was looking at, lost to her dark beauty. The woman was like a sculptor's masterpiece, a breathtaking piece of art that lived and breathed. Hermione dragged a finger over Bellatrix's full lower lip and, remembering who it was she was looking at, wondered briefly if the real Bellatrix had ever been touched so gently, if she had ever been shown any kindness.

A hard rap on the door made Hermione quickly look away from Bellatrix.

"It's time to go," Ron said roughly through on the other side of the door. Hermione couldn't help but feel that things with Ron would never be the same, not after what had happened with Ginny. She knew he blamed her, and he had every right to. It was bound to be tense posing as Bellatrix after what had happened, and the knowledge weighed on her heavily as she opened the door to Ron's sullen and disguised face. She felt a pang when she saw a brief flash of hatred in his eyes, and silently consoled herself that it was _Bellatrix _he hated. She reached out to touch his arm but he jerked away as though she had some kind of disease. She looked down at her black boots, embarrassed.

The sun was hot on her black clothes as they exited the cottage, leaving Bill, Fleur and Luna sleeping. Luna had yet to make and appearance since they rescued her, leaving them to wonder what was done to her at the Manor. Fleur had been delivering her meals and had told her the news about Ginny. Eager to get away like the rest of them, she'd be leaving the following morning to return to Hogwarts, and Hermione hoped she'd make it back to see her off.

Harry and Griphook were waiting for them, but Griphook was the only one actually looking at her. His eyes were darker than Bellatrix's and nearly as unsettling, and Hermione didn't trust him one bit. However, Harry was the _chosen one_, and there really wasn't much else they could do but rely on the goblin.

"You can give that to Hermione, Griphook," Harry said, indicating the sword. He dropped it into her beaded bag while she held it open for them, before they all simultaneously took a deep breath. Then they were off with a loud _crack_, leaving behind only a ripple in the salty air.

They'd apparated into a dark alleyway near Gringotts, and Hermione immediately felt sick with memories. Her breathing was slightly labored, but despite her feelings she stuck her nose up in the air and took on the arrogant mannerisms of Bellatrix. When the goblin and Harry were covered with the invisibility cloak, the three of them exited the alley.

Gringotts stood tall down the street and Hermione slowed, the clicking of her boots on the cobblestone ceasing. There was a cloaked figure leaning against the wall next to the front entrance and Hermione felt uneasy at the sight.

"Keep going," Harry whispered in her ear, "we're almost there,"

With a deep breath, she and Ron continued, slower this time. The figure looked up as they approached, tensed, but made no movement. Hermione tried to relax and think only of what she was going to say once they got in. She was too busy trying not to look suspicious to notice the wand slip out of the man's sleeve. If they had only noticed a second earlier.

"_Stupify!" _the man shouted, and the spell hit Ron square in the chest. Hermione whipped out Bellatrix's wand and cast "_Expelliarmus!" _right as four more men came out from behind the side of the bank. She recognized none of them, one had a full beard, another striking blue eyes, and the other two were a bit on the short side. She could not wrap her mind around how on earth

"Snatchers!" Hermione realized, as Harry began firing out spells from beneath the cloak, only his arm sticking out. He hit one of the Snatchers with the blue eyes with a stunning spell but the other three were coming straight for Hermione, repeatedly casting "_protego"_

"Stay under the cloak!" Hermione told Harry, confident that if they could see him, they would take him.

And then, by a stroke of misfortune, the Snatcher with the beard got a lucky shot at Harry, using a binding curse, and he fell near Ron, the cloak half off of him. One of the shorter men had snuck up on Hermione while she was distracted by Harry and knocked her out before she could move to stop him.

"Oy, Bale, what do you reckon we do with those two," the bearded man addressed one of his companions.

Luckily, for some reason the Snatchers were unaware of who the two young men were, exactly. "Nothin," Bale responded, "Madame Lestrange said the one she was looking for was a girl, but would be in some kind of disguise. Wait till she sees just what the disguise was!" He barked out a laugh.

The men gathered together, supporting both their stunned friend and an unconscious Hermione, and disapparated with victorious smirks on their dirt-smeared faces.

xXx

When Hermione's eyes fluttered opened, she felt a surge of panic at the unfamiliar stone ceiling above her. Her head throbbed painfully as she turned it to the side to take in her surroundings. It looked like she was in a cellar. It was dark, dank, and freezing, and there was a dark shape leaning in the corner between the wall and the bars. Hermione didn't need to see the face to recognize the shape of her body.

_Bellatrix. _

"Well, whats this! Look what I've found!" Bellatrix said with enthusiasm. Her eyes held a vicious kind of excitement.

Hermione stared, speechless in her fear and wonder of the older witch. She was trembling, but she clasped her hands tightly on her lap to try to avoid showing it.

_I must be brave, and I must stay calm. _

Bellatrix put a finger to her chin, seeming as if she were deep in thought. "What shall I do with you?" she wondered, "You really have caused me a lot of trouble, muddy,"

Hermione did her best to brush off the name.

"I think I'll start off simple," Bellatrix decided with a gleam in her eyes, and Hermione knew what was coming before the witch opened her pretty mouth. The pain hit her hard enough that she drifted out of awareness, while her body still suffered.

"_Crucio!" _Bellatrix let it go for longer than she had before when the mudblood was at the Manor for the first time. She took thorough enjoyment noticing the way each person reacted to torture. Her eyes hungrily took in the way Hermione's back arched, how her lips tightened and her eyes narrowed. Bellatrix longed to reach out and touch her, but she told herself, _not yet, not here_, and released the girl from her curse with a sigh.

Hermione slumped against the hard floor, her body twitching from the aftershocks. Her bravery had been shattered with the force of the spell, and tears streamed freely from her eyes. The situation she was in finally hit her. To her, the truth of the matter was that there was no way of surviving this. Once Bellatrix tired of torturing her, she would kill her. Or maybe Voldemort would, but in the end it wouldn't matter to her. Hermione just hoped it would be quick, or take long enough for her to figure a way out of it.

She turned her eyes to Bellatrix. Te witch looked distant, as though she was thinking very deeply of something, which was an expression Hermione had never seen on her before. _How odd_.

"What makes you think you have the right to stare, muddy?" Bellatrix snapped irritably.

A moment of silence passed before Hermione mustered up the energy to ask, "what are you going to do with me?"

Bellatrix crossed the room and bent over her, their faces about a foot apart, "I haven't decided that part yet, but you'd better hope I decide to kill you soon," and with that she turned and left the room.

Hermione shut her eyes, and imagined she was back at the Gryffindor common room. She thought of Ron, Harry, Ginny, and Luna, and that put her at ease. It made her think that maybe she'd make it out of this alive. No, she _would _make it out of this alive. And she wondered, fleetingly, if given the chance, she'd be able to avenge Sirius and Ginny's deaths.


End file.
